MDGFive.com: A new media initiative to increase civic engagement in the fight for maternal health
MDGFive.com is an innovation in online advocacy aimed at improving maternal and neonatal health under the UN's flagship Millennium Campaign. Developed as an interactive website that will utilize cutting-edge, user-friendly technology to make global artist’s songs, poems, and film footage available to be “mashed-up” into custom Public Service Announcements by website users, MDGFive.com will help give maternal health mainstream attention.
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Lisa
Last Name
Russell
Organization
Governess Films
Country
United States
Are you an individual between the ages of 18 and 35 who would like to apply for a nine month Young Champions Program mentored by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Section 2: About Your Organization
Organization Name
Governess Films
Organization Website
Organization Phone
Organization Address
Organization Country
United States
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Your idea
Name Your Project
MDGFive.com: A new media initiative to increase civic engagement in the fight for maternal health
Country your work focuses on
Describe Your Idea
MDGFive.com is an innovation in online advocacy aimed at improving maternal and neonatal health under the UN's flagship Millennium Campaign. Developed as an interactive website that will utilize cutting-edge, user-friendly technology to make global artist’s songs, poems, and film footage available to be “mashed-up” into custom Public Service Announcements by website users, MDGFive.com will help give maternal health mainstream attention.
Website URL
http://www.mdgfive.com (in development)
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
Maternal health continues to be one of the most critical yet neglected health issues facing our world. Every second a woman dies from complications related to childbirth and pregnancy. And despite the fact that the United Nations has identified improving maternal health as one of its eight Millennium Development Goals, it continues to be unprioritized and therefore remains to be the one that lags in progress.
Globally, we have the voice and resources to change these trends by ensuring more families have access to family planning services and that women with obstetric complications have access to the right emergency care. We believe the best approach to promoting greater access for women's health worldwide has to be one that is collaborative, and in partnership with those who know their communities best.
As a global health activist and filmmaker, I believe in the power of imagery, sound and the spoken word to inspire cultural exchange, unite international communities, and to promote social progress worldwide, yet I see a large disconnect between the humanitarian world and the creative communities who have an incredible impact on their societies at the local level when it comes to global health advocacy.
I would like to see greater communication/partnerships between these two worlds to address issues of women/motherhood/maternal health. Therefore, I am developing - in collaboration with Grammy-winning singer, Maya Azucena - a new media "mash up" project called MDGFive.com.
"MDGFive.com solicits creative content from artists around the world (musicians, filmmakers, poets, djs, etc.) Online activists can access these license-free clips to create their own personalized PSA's on MDG Five which can be forwarded to their networks, development institutions and policymakers.
We believe our approach to online advocacy that utilizes content from country level for use at the global level makes us unique in the world of MDG advocacy.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
“MDGFive.com” is a new project developed by artists Lisa Russell (Emmy-award winning filmmaker) and Maya Azucena (Grammy-award winning singer). Our goal is to utilize our collective networks, in both the creative and humanitarian worlds, on an artistic project that helps bring attention and resources to women around the world. We believe in the power of the arts to inspire cultural exchange, unite international communities, and to promote social progress worldwide.
Since announcing our project and our solicitation of creative content, we have received hundreds of emails from artists from all corners of the world. This includes filmmakers from Uganda, hip hop artists from Tanzania, a youth arts movement in Brazil and others. We believe that our call for content has already brought attention to maternal health as artists begin envisioning the material that they will submit for the site.
We also enrolled in the "Ideas for Change in America" contest in which we placed third in the initial round, giving us the opportunity for a chance to present our idea to the Obama Administration. While we didn't end up a winner in the contest, it did create linkages with other international women's rights organizations and also landed us a write-up in an online music magazine which you can view here: http://bit.ly/bvqh7T.
We are currently seeking financing in order to begin developing the site.
Problem
In September 2000, building upon a decade of major United Nations conferences and summits, world leaders came together at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets - with a deadline of 2015 - that have become known as the Millennium Development Goals.
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.
MDG Five – which focuses on improving maternal health by decreasing maternal mortality and achieving universal access to reproductive health services - is the only MDG which is lagging in progress. Given that an estimated 500,000 women die each year from pregnancy or childbearing complications suggests that mobilization of a wide spectrum of players is needed to reverse these trends.
Actions
“MDGFive.com”’s fresh and creative approach to online advocacy is intended to engage new audiences in the global fight to improve maternal health by giving users the opportunity to be involved in the creative process and therefore have more ownership in the cause. Supplementing the work of governments, multilateral institutions and civil society, “MDGFive.com” will help galvanize the general public who are compelled and positioned to help the world strive to meet MDG Five, but do not have the information or resources to do so.
“MDGFIve.com” contains a “Mash Up” section that houses license-free creative content (music, film, spoken word clips) provided by participating artists representing diverse genres, cultures and regions around the world. Users of the site will be able to mash up these clips to create their own advocacy PSAs. The site will be programmed so that these PSA's can be forwarded to networks, policymakers and development institutions. It will be focused around activities related to the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and will be promoted extensively around the international community starting in the fall.
Results
The objectives are to:
- Increase awareness: Provide a platform for viral dissemination for material, advocacy messages and resources on MDG Five
- Increase funding: Encourage donations to programs that support maternal health
- Legislative advocacy: Encourage policymakers and development institutions to abide by promises of the Millennium Declaration and support programs to help meet the goals of MDG Five.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
We anticipate MDGFive.com to be a project initiated in 2010 and lasting until 2015.
With a major conference on the MDGs happening at the United Nations in September of this year, we anticipate 2010 as our most critical year. This is when we will develop and launch the site, secure funding and partnerships and set the stage of what is to come over the next five years. In order to be successful, we will need to have high-quality and diverse content from artists, a strong and supportive advisory committee, committed donors and a user friendly site.
2011 will be a continuation of the initiative as we begin monitoring the effectiveness of the site and making revisions to ensure it remains viable.
2012 will be the halfway mark of the project during which we anticipate the need for a revitalization of content and/or strategy. We want MDGFive.com to stay at the forefront of innovation in online advocacy and will be tailoring the site to accomodate new media trends.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
The two main areas that will prevent MDGFive.com from succeeding is a lack of funding and technical issues with the site. We believe with enough support from our funders and supporters, we will be prepared for any major obstacles that may occur before launching MDGFive.com in September.
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$1000 - 4000
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Idea phase
Is your organization a
For‐profit
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
If yes, provide organization name.
Governess Films
How long has this organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with government?
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Our collaborations with various players will help us ensure we reach a diverse and wide audiences. We will rely on NGOs, particularly those who are sponsors to the project, for promotion of and technical input for the site. Since we are not interested in raising funds for maternal health programs, they will act as beneficiaries of the site.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
The three most important actions we need to grow MDGFive.com are:
- Build solid and long-lasting alliances with both the new media and maternal health community.
- Be successful with our fundraising to ensure we have the most qualified design and technical team.
- Retain credibility with our creative content providers and users of the site.
The Story
What was the defining moment that you led to this innovation?
I have throughout my career as a filmmaker/global health activist dedicated my time to providing unique "experiences" for under-served audiences-such as youth and communities of color-in order to educate and inspire their involvement in global health and development issues. This has led to unique collaborations with other filmmakers, musicians and young spoken word artists. It has been transformed into film workshops in Tanzania and Uganda with young filmmakers who viewed my film "Not Yet Rain" on unsafe abortions in Ethiopia as a teaching tool.
In mid 2009 I took those observations and decided I wanted to focus my time in 2010 on an MDG Five project. However it wasn't until I had several meetings with maternal health experts at UNFPA, EngenderHealth and Ipas and the Assistant Secretary General, Bob Orr, that I began to see what that project looked like.
Their concerns for supporting another film and new media site that would become a Western initiative advocating on behalf of those of the poor, the “victims”, those who don't have access to the technology.
In an effort to alleviate these concerns, I began contacting several artists friends I have in various parts of the world for their opinions about getting involved in my MDGFive.com project. They were extremely interested and I soon realized that their participation as artists, gave them inspiration to start looking at maternal health, through a creative lens, in their own communities. MDGFive.com was an opportunity for them to write their own narrative and have some ownership in the cause.
On the user side, I have had endless conversations with MPH students, high school students, artists, etc who are interested in making films for advocacy purposes but never knew where to start. By providing them with an interactive website that allows them to create their own PSAs on MDG Five they would simultaneously get the experience of making their own film while learning about maternal and neonatal mortality at the same time.
I believe by reflecting on these old experiences and observing new ones, my insights will keep this project sustainable and innovative.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
"MDGFive.com” is spearheaded by Emmy award winning filmmaker and international health specialist, Lisa Russell and Grammy-winning singer, Maya Azucena.
Lisa completed her Masters in Public Health (MPH) in International Health in 1998 and is an Emmy-award winning filmmaker who has built a portfolio of films on developmental topics, many of which focus on maternal health. This includes “Love, Labor, Loss”, a 15-minute advocacy video on obstetric fistula in Niger, “A Day in the Life” , five minute portraits of two women in the DR Congo (one living with obstetric fistula and the other, with traumatic fistula), and recently “Not Yet Rain”, an online film and advocacy initiative on unsafe abortion in Ethiopia. In all of these films, Lisa has collaborated or been commissioned by some of the world’s leading international women’s health organizations including UNFPA, EngenderHealth, International Center for Research on Women, Ipas, and others. She often collaborates with artists in her outreach and has an extensive network of poets, filmmakers and musicians in the developing world. www.GovernessFilms.com.
Brooklyn singer/songwriter Maya Azucena believes that music is a tool for healing and activism, and she supports humanitarian causes with her voice. Recently a Grammy winner for her duet on Stephen Marley's "Reggae Album of the Year," Azucena has shared bills with an impressive list of such legendary artists as Roberta Flack, Vernon Reid, Isley Brothers, Roy Ayers, Leon Ware, Stephen Marley, Lupe Fiasco, and John Legend. Among many, many benefits, Maya sang on Washington DC's historic Mall at the Save Darfur Rally against genocide in the Sudan, in solidarity with national activists and celebrities such as Barack Obama, Al Sharpton, Russell Simmons and George Clooney. She has toured extensively in the U.S., as well as throughout Europe and Croatia where her recording collaboration with Croatian super star, Gibonni, garnered two Croatian Grammys. In the Spring of 2008, Maya and her band did a 5-week US State Department-sponsored tour of Burma, China, Philippines and Sri Lanka, etc.
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Personal contact at Changemakers
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